(Reuters) - Private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group Inc on Wednesday made a competing offer for Hudson's Bay Co that challenges the Canadian retailer's deal with a consortium led by its executive chairman, Richard Baker. Catalyst, which owns 17.5% of Hudson's Bay, has bid C$11 per share, topping Baker's C$10.30 per share offer in October and valuing the company at C$2.03 billion ($1.53 billion)...

As Viacom undergoes a top-to-bottom renovation, Shari Redstone ’s influence at the company has been rising. By many accounts, Viacom’s vice chair has been a big presence at the company’s Times Square headquarters since late August, after the ouster of Philippe Dauman as chairman-CEO was completed. Redstone led the charge in bringing in five new board members and instigating a comprehensive review of the company’s operations ..

A federal appeals court on Tuesday lifted an injunction that would have required Wal-Mart Stores Inc to let shareholders vote on a proposal to tighten oversight of its sale of guns with high-capacity magazines. In a brief order, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a permanent injunction imposed in November by U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark that would have required a vote at Wal-Mart ...

French media group Vivendi said it reached a deal with activist U.S. hedge fund P. Schoenfeld Asset Management (PSAM) to increase payouts to investors, heading off a conflict ahead of its shareholder meeting later this month. Vivendi said it had pledged to return 6.75 billion euros ($7.3 billion) to shareholders following talks with PSAM in the last few days, above the 5.7 billion it had ...

The chairman of Alliance Trust acquired thousands of shares in the company weeks after an activist shareholder had privately indicated that it was preparing to call for a boardroom shake-up. Sky News can reveal that Karin Forseke, a former deputy chairman and senior independent director of the Financial Services Authority, bought the shares - worth approximately £25,000 - on 9 March, three days ...

Actavis Plc said on Tuesday that Allergan Inc's top executive David Pyott will not join the combined company's board of directors after all. Pyott, who had run Allergan since 1998 before agreeing to the company's purchase by Actavis last year, had previously said he was considering a role on the board. Actavis closed on its $70 billion purchase of the Botox maker on Tuesday. "I am excited for ...

The second-largest shareholder in Hyundai Motor Co <005380.KS> and its two affiliates will vote against the reappointment of some board members who last year approved buying a Seoul property for $10 billion or three times its appraised value, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. Opposition by the National Pension Service (NPS) is unlikely to change the structure of the ...

Herbalife Ltd cut the pay of Chief Executive Michael Johnson 36 percent for 2014 after the nutrition and weight loss company failed to meet performance goals set for him and other top executives, according to a securities filing on Friday. Herbalife said Johnson, who is also chairman, received total compensation of $6.73 million last year, down from $10.5 million in 2013, mainly because he did ...

By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG Manitoba (Reuters) - Agrium Inc has been in "friendly" talks with activist shareholder ValueAct Capital, Chief Executive Officer Chuck Magro said on Tuesday, adding that the hedge fund approves of the Canadian fertilizer company's strategy. ValueAct on Oct. 24 disclosed it had bought a 5.7 percent stake in the company, 1-1/2 years after Agrium won a proxy battle with ...

By Marilyn Thompson and Ben Klayman WASHINGTON/DETROIT (Reuters) - A former head of General Motors corporate quality audit warned the company’s board in a letter in 2002 that it needed to “stop the continued shipment of unsafe vehicles” and “recall suspect vehicles that were already in customers’ hands.” The letter from William McAleer shows that GM's directors and top management were told about ...

Citigroup Inc said on Friday that Ned Kelly, a former chief financial officer who went on to advise as chairman of the company's investment bank, is retiring. Kelly, 61, will be replaced by Stephen Volk, who joined the bank in 2004 and will continue to be a vice chairman of Citigroup, a spokeswoman said. A small group of senior client advisors, including Peter Orszag and Leon Kalvaria, who have ...

By Lisa Baertlein and Ross Kerber LOS ANGELES/BOSTON (Reuters) - The next big showdown in the running battle over U.S. executive pay is shaping up to be the annual meeting of McDonald's Corp on Thursday, but critics may have a tough time replicating their victory last week at Chipotle Mexican Grill . McDonald's is a main target of protesters and labor groups, who criticize the world's biggest ...

By Bernie Woodall and Ben Klayman DETROIT (Reuters) - United Auto Workers Vice President Joe Ashton has been nominated to General Motors Co's board as the representative for the healthcare trust for retired GM workers, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. GM also reiterated that Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra, who is grappling with a ...

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc named Peter Oppenheimer, the chief financial officer of Apple Inc , as an independent director. Oppenheimer's appointment expands Goldman's board to 13, of whom 10 are independent. "Peter's 25 years of broad experience across important industries will add a valuable perspective to our board of directors," Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said in a ...

By Clara Ferreira-Marques and Emma Farge LONDON/ZUG, Switzerland (Reuters) - Glencore Xstrata has appointed Tony Hayward as its interim chairman, a source with knowledge of the matter said, propelling the once "vilified" former BP chief executive into the limelight after an unexpected boardroom coup. John Bond, a City veteran and former chairman of Xstrata, earlier surprised investors by ...